Tabernak! Où sont les Canadiens?

Hey guys, a general posting for the Montreal folks. I am in a rough situation and need to exit my place end of the month, with no future residence. As such, I am looking to part with a lot of my stuff. I know most of you guys have stable jobs and whatnot, so my my student odds and sods aren't going to be of much use, but I might have a bottle of something or random misc things that might could use a new home. If you are interested, feel free to hit me up.

 

I should have mentioned it in my last post because I realise it wasn't clear, but all the stuff is free to a good home. Nothing special mind, mostly things for around the house, kitchen, small appliances, etc. I also have a few boxes of movies and books I won't have time to take away I think if someone wanted to exchange them for something at one of the used stores around town.

I know it is short notice, but if someone wanted a small get together today I would be down. There is a new microbrew place that just opened on Ontario (Station Host) I have been meaning to try. I am fine with a quick meeting.

 

Is anyone going to Comic Con? It is usually not much from my understanding but as I have free time and am steps away now, I might wander to check it out. Just saw that tickets to 'An evening with Felicia Day' are 99$. ! Oh man.

Oooh, Jason Momoa. Actually they are having a reunion of the cast from [neo] BSG. Update: more cancellations here too - WTH. That is farely decent, even though I am not such a fan. Anyways, if someone is heading there one day this weekend, or recommends something, let me know.

http://www.montrealcomiccon.com/

Sad news, Billy Dee has cancelled though. That was the highlight for me. Carrier Fisher too, but I am less sad about that.

 

I figured, given the relative shittiness of the event, that there would be some public access things to attend, heck even the costuming or whatnot. I guess not though. There definitely isn't anything I would shell out more than a few bucks for (which is dreaming, at those prices). Ah well, that's why I haven't been yet.

 

Wow, this is really terrible news. I was just on this same train yesterday. Seemingly inexplicable from the accounts, and a real tragedy. My thoughts go out to all those affected and especially those who have lost loved ones.

Via Rail train, Ottawa city bus crash leaves 6 dead

 

Yeah, it is in real rough shape in Quebec. The monopolies are holding the telecom sector in the dark ages of service. It really depends on what you are looking to get, i.e. if you have any plans for bundling the service with another phone or will watch television. I would advise to give something plain internet a try first, since tv is pretty awful, and most things are available online anyhow. (wink, wink, nudge, nudge)

My recommendation is to go with one of the re-sellers of the internet. These are smaller companies that offer (generally DSL) at decent speeds from the major companies, e.g. Videotron. It is especially important to note that here they have bandwidth and download caps, so if you do a lot of streaming/gaming/downloading, you can quickly get screwed over. Check them all out, and usually each company will offer at least one package that will suit your needs.

You can find some cheaper companies that don't require contract, like Teksavvy, Youmano, Acanac, etc., but one of the best if it is available to you is Colba net. I didn't have it myself, but if you just sign up for a year in advance, you can get unlimited DLs, good speed, for 20$ a month. That is as cheap as it will come. Oh, this brings up another point, the service in Montreal is also susceptible to area. Where you are living may [probably will] affect the options available to you, so ask them first when you call. Also DO NOT trust any of the speeds they "quote", it is all BS and will depend massively on how far you are from the distribution node. Even a block away makes a big difference.

You will also hear the term "throttling" thrown out a lot if you read some of the forums on this. I can't believe I actually have to explain something so stupid, but this is something the big companies do here to curb (lower) the usage on their lines. When there are peak times or you are downloading lots, they actually reduce your connection speed. I am not a hardcore gamer or anything, but fuck, that is BS. You pay for service from them, but honestly, don't expect to get it reliably.

 

Caveat: if you do sign up for Netflix - this goes for anyone - make use of an American DNS so that you have access to the US Netflix. You can't even compare the two. Oh, and if you are doing it by PC, as opposed to Apple TV or something, it is even easier; you can just use a browser add-on. There is Media Hint, which I have heard works well, but I have used Hola. It opens up access to all US restricted sites, e.g. Hulu, etc., and even lets you quickly switch back and forth from Canada to US domains. Simple and effective. Don't pay for any unblocking service, that is just silly.

 

The simple answer is yes, it is far and away better. And if you can switch back and forth anyways, why not? You can have 'em both!

Apple TV is a bit more challenging, but still, outside of some BBC shows and Degrassi, the American version has got it all plus a hundred times more. Kind of like renting some videos at the local depanneur vs. a full fledged video store (for us oldies).

Alas, neither have French. I don't know what the state of the French version is though, but I am sure if it exists, there are ways to access it too.

 

Thanks for that link Chris. It is actually helpful to see that someone actually tabulated it all. Looking at the the numbers alone should tell you the sheer scope of the difference. This all has to do with licensing and broadcast issues in Canada, but I still think it is rubbish. You can also see the few titles which are available only to us, not that there is many of those most average viewers would have interest in watching. The Hour is about the only noticeable exception I would point out, though Netflix Canada has just now added the Up Series, which is actually a fantastic group of docs if you haven't seen it.